Vol. 509 No. 5
92 Mr. U. Burke asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if she has requested An Post to provide additional services to the public other than those which are currently provided; if not, if she will allow An Post to provide these additional services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20792/99]
As was reiterated in the recent White Paper on rural development, the Government remains committed to the retention of the post office network and to its use for the delivery of the most comprehensive range possible of State services to all citizens.
In May this year the Government approved the further development of the post office network as a one-stop-shop through the provision of facilities in post offices to enable the payment, inter alia, of ESB bills, motor taxation renewal demands and airline tickets.
Discussions are also proceeding on the commencement of the roll-out of publicly available Internet access points, as part of the Government's strategy for positioning Ireland as a leader in the information society.
An Post is committed to providing these expanded services and an interdepartmental committee has been established to further the provision of these facilities as soon as possible.
